136 AURAtfGZlB THE PURITAN EMPEROR

a spacious canopy of brocade with deep fringes of gold. The pillars of the hall were hung with brocades of a gold ground, and flowered satin canopies were raised over the whole .expanse of the extensive apartment, fastened with red silken cords from which were sus- pended large tassels of silk and gold. The floor was covered entirely with carpets of the richest silk, of immense length and breadth. A tent, called the aspak, was pitched outside [in the court], larger than the hall, to which it was joined at the top. It spread over half the court, and was completely enclosed by a great balus- trade, covered with plates of silver. Its supporters were pillars overlaid with silver, three of which were as thick and as high as the mast of a barque, the others smaller. The outside of this magnificent tent was red, and the inside lined with elegant Masulipatan chintzes, figured expressly for that very purpose with flowers so natural and colours so vivid that the tent seemed to be encompassed with real parterres. As to the ar- cade galleries round the court, every Omrah had received orders to decorate one of them at his own expense, and there appeared a spirit of emulation as to who should best acquit himself to the monarch's satisfaction. Consequently all the arcades and galleries were covered from top to bottom with brocade, and the pavement with rich carpets." On his birthday Aurangzib maintained the old Mo- ghul custom of "being solemnly weighed in a pair of gold scalps against precious metals and stones and food, when the nobles one and all came with offerings